


Prelude

by mamabearray



Series: Dear Wormwood [1]
Category: Good Omens (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Child Aziraphale, Child Crowley, Gen, Mouse Aziraphale, Sentient Animals, Snake Crowley (Good Omens), Uuuhhh Imma be Real Honest idk exactly how to tag this y'all Lmao, Young Aziraphale, Young Crowley
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2019-09-17
Packaged: 2020-10-20 08:53:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20672648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mamabearray/pseuds/mamabearray
Summary: “Hello, little moussse. Quite the predicament you’re in I sssee.” Aziraphale shot up, looking around himself, desperately searching for whoever had just spoken.“Hel-Hello! Who’s there?”“Up here, little moussse,” And so up Aziraphale looked. Up through the bars of the cage, up into the darkness of the tree branches, and up into the gleaming, golden eyes of a snake.





	Prelude

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm very very excited for this fic and series to finally be starting!!! Honestly this whole idea stemmed from me just wanting Crowley to call Aziraphale little mouse and now it's a whole au series concept and I am!!! So Excited!!! This is going to the 1st fic in a series of 13, each one named after and slightly inspired by a song from the Dear Wormwood album by The Oh Hello's!!! I hope y'all enjoy reading!!!
> 
> Thank you to my absolutely wonderful friend who I will be calling R for beta reading my fic!!! She absolutely was Not expecting to beta read and edit 16 pages but she did anyways and for that she has my love
> 
> Aziraphale - Eurasian Harvest Mouse
> 
> Crowley - Red-Bellied Black Snake
> 
> For the tree at the third part/end of the story picture just Absolutely Huge intertwined Redwood tree roots, and all of the trees being connected is based off of the Pando Forest
> 
> [My Tumblr](https://aphfannerdpersonthing.tumblr.com/)

Aziraphale’s heart beat painfully against his ribcage, so hard that he was sure it was about to burst right out of his chest and fall down to the forest floor, which was where he desperately wished to be at the moment, rather than stuck in the small cage swinging back and forth from the branch of a tree. The bars of the cage were so tightly spaced that he could barely get his front paws through them, but it didn’t stop him from scrabbling at the bars of the cage, trying to find a way out. Really, it was his own fault that he was now stuck in this predicament, not paying attention to his surroundings and allowing himself to be distracted by the smell of fruit. A fruit that was currently out of season. The caretakers were always getting onto him about not paying enough attention to his surroundings, and well, he’d just proved them right it seems. He was going to be in so much trouble once he got back to the nest. _ If _he ever got back to the nest that is.

For hours Aziraphale scrambled, climbed, and reached over the whole of the cage, searching for any means of escape, ever increasing panic running through his veins as time passed. His small chest heaving from exhaustion, Aziraphale finally gave up in trying to escape. He dragged himself into a corner and curled up into a tight ball, trying, and failing, to suppress the trembling now wracking his small body. Those panic filled hours had passed by both heart wrenchingly quickly and slowly, and now the sun was beginning to set and here Aziraphale was, stuck out in the open, an easy target for any predators looking to have a quick meal. Aziraphale knew that just because _ he _ wasn’t strong enough to break open the cage didn’t mean that nothing _ else _was. As the minutes slowly ticked by, the shadows surrounding him crept closer and closer, becoming ever larger and menacing. Aziraphale knew all too well what lay for him in those shadows that were soon to smother out the last slivers of sunlight. So terrified was he of what waited for him the dark of night, so far away from his home, that he did not notice he was no longer alone, not until the other being spoke.

“Hello, little moussse. Quite the predicament you’re in I sssee.” Aziraphale shot up, looking around himself, desperately searching for whoever had just spoken.

“Hel-Hello! Who’s there?”

“Up here, little moussse,” And so up Aziraphale looked. Up through the bars of the cage, up into the darkness of the tree branches, and up into the gleaming, golden eyes of a snake. Aziraphale froze, heart turning into a chunk of ice in his chest and making his blood run cold. He trembled in silence, unable to rip his gaze away from the snake that had begun to slither its way down the branch, wrapping itself around the cord of the cage and making its way closer to Aziraphale.

“How did you manage to get into thisss mess here, little mouse?” The snake asked, amusement easy to hear in his voice, his face now pressed close to the bars of the cage. Aziraphale puffed out his small cheeks, now annoyed at this snake who thought he could just come out of the shadows and _ laugh _ at him, as if he’d _ wanted _ and _ tried _to get stuck in a human trap.

“Well, if you must know, I was minding my own business when all of a sudden I’m up in the air, bouncing and swinging about in this damnable cage. Now if you plan to just _sit there _and _laugh _at me, I suggest that you _leave_.”

“And what if I decide to help you, should I ssstill leave than?”

“I’m sorry, if you decide to what?” Aziraphale said, not believing his ears.

“To help you out of this cage, little moussse,” The snake said as it slowly wrapped itself once around the cage, keeping its eyes on Aziraphale the whole time.

“I- Well- I mean,” Aziraphale stuttered, not having expected the snake to say such a thing. Then, softly, he said, “I’d be much obliged for your assistance, serpent.”

“Alright, little mouse, pleassse stand to the ssside now.”Quickly wrapping himself around the outside of the cage opposite to where Aziraphale stood, the snake squeezed his body around it, causing the lock holding the cage shut to break and the door to pop open. The snake slid in front of the opening and motioned to his back, “Hop on, little mouse. Unlesss, of course, you feel like falling all the way to the forest floor or climbing all the way up the wire, acrosss the tree branch, and down the trunk.”

Aziraphale, having nothing to say, scampered over and climbed onto the snakes back, letting himself be taken up the wire the cage hung from, across the tree branch, and down the trunk, just as the snake had described, much quicker then he would have been able to on his own. As they reached the forest floor, he hopped off the snakes back and did a little wiggle that went from the top of his ears to the very end of his tail, happy to be on the ground again. He turned to the snake, finally getting a good, unobstructed view of his savior. He had a deep red belly, while the rest of him was black and gleaming in the moonlight that managed to shine its way through gaps in the leaves, and he was… _ smaller _ than Aziraphale had thought he would be, smaller and _ shorter _, actually. 

Aziraphale drew himself up to his full height--which wasn’t much if he were to be honest-- and said, “Thank you very much for your help, kind sir, but I would also like to know why you are calling me _ little _ since you seem to be my age! Which means you aren’t really bigger than me!” 

The snake looked taken aback. “I am _ not _ little,” he hissed, eyes narrowing. “And anyway, you _ are _ little if we’re going by size. Oh, yes, I’m _ definitely _ much bigger than you are, _ little moussse _ ,” The snake finished gleefully, golden eyes twinkling. Aziraphale pouted, tired and cold and just wanting to go home to eat and sleep. Although he was most assuredly _ not little _\- at least not any littler than the snake in front of him, he didn’t feel like arguing. 

“Well, thank you again for your assistance, but I must get going now. Perhaps we will meet under better circumstances next time.”

“Likewissse,” the snake hissed as he began to slither away, and suddenly Aziraphale realized something quite important.

“Wait!” He cried out in alarm, causing the snake to stop and turn around, confusion clear on his face. “I never got your name, serpent.”

“It’s Crowley. And yours?”

“Aziraphale. It was very nice to meet you, Crowley.”

“And you.” And with those final words they parted, heading back to their homes, certain that they would never meet again. Why would they? What with their forest home being so big and their sides so full of hatred for the other…

* * *

Crowley writhed and twisted and turned and bucked up against the heavy net that surrounded him, trying to loosen or open it up the best he could, but only succeeding in causing the net to become tighter and tangling himself further in it. He finally stopped, realizing that he was just getting himself into an even bigger mess than he was already in. The ropes dug into his scales, pulling and scratching and making him hiss in pain. He couldn’t believe that he’d let a _ net _ trap him, of all things. He sat there and sulked for what felt like hours, or possibly could have been minutes. He never had been good at keeping track of time. When he felt he could wait no longer or he would go insane with boredom, he once again began to writhe against the ropes holding him down. All that he caused to happen, though, was make the ropes yank off some of his scales, making him yelp in pain. So preoccupied was he with his current dilemma that he didn’t notice the small being standing near him until they spoke.

“Crowley, is that you?” Crowley whipped his entangled head around(with some difficulty, he was nothing if not determined) to look at the small being who had spoken.

“Is that you, little moussse?” He hissed out, trying to keep the pain out of his voice. He watched the small mouse puff out his cheeks and huff in annoyance.

“It’s _ Aziraphale _ . _ Not _ little mouse.” 

“Whatever you say, Aziraphale the little moussse,” he said in glee, watching as Aziraphale glared at him, looking absolutely anything but menacing. Adorable was the way to describe him really. “Ssso what are you doing here? Never thought I’d sssee you again, if I’m going to be honest.” The tip of his tail gave a small flick in response to his curiosity.

“I was just walking by,” Aziraphale replied. “Although, I think the more important question is how you got all tangled up in there,” motioning to the net holding him captive. Crowley’s mind jolted to a stop, making him stutter as he tried to come up with an excuse as to why he was currently stuck in a net.

“It-It- It was on_ purpossse _!” He hissed as embarrassment raced through his body. The look that Aziraphale gave him in response told Crowley everything he needed to know about what he thought of his excuse, and so Crowley pouted and sulked in the net, giving a fierce wriggle and twisting the net further around himself.

“Stop doing that! You’re only getting yourself more tangled up and hurt!” Aziraphale cried as he scampered closer to Crowley. “Let me help you.”

“Why would you help me?” Crowley growled out, “In fact, _ how _can you help me? Do you have magic just hiding around somewhere that you can use? A knife like a human?” 

Aziraphale huffed and leveled a glare at him. “I’m helping because I _ want to _. And I may not have magic or a knife, but I do have my teeth,” he said very proudly, tail going up high in the air.

“What have your _ teeth _got to do with any-” And before Crowley could finish his sentence Aziraphale had run up to the net, taken part of it, and started biting through the rope, quickly chewing his way through it until Crowley saw the rope snap and and felt the rest net around him loosen just slightly. He watched silently as Aziraphale did this over and over again until enough of the netting had been bitten through for Crowley to slither out of it. He watched as Aziraphale gave a happy wiggle at seeing him free, and he felt a happy, fond feeling run through him at seeing the little mouse so pleased with himself.

“Thank you,” Crowley said quietly, suddenly shy, “For helping me.”

“Oh, it was no problem at all, dear serpent! If we do recall just a few weeks ago, I was caught in quite the similar predicament that you just were, and you helped me out easily enough.”

“Well, ssstill, thank you.” 

Aziraphale just softly, happily hummed in response before saying somewhat embarrassed, “Well, I must be off, the caretakers are expecting all of us young ones to be back soon, and- Well, I’m required to be back earlier than the others because of the cage incident.”

“Probably bessst I be off as well then,” Crowley said, hiding his disappointment at not being able to stay with Aziraphale longer. “Maybe we’ll meet again, little moussse.”

“I would like that very much, I believe,” Aziraphale replied, and if Crowley didn’t know any better he would say that Aziraphale felt the same.

They then parted ways, heading back to their respective sides of the forest and homes, neither catching the other turn around to watch as they left.

* * *

Aziraphale’s small chest heaved as he raced through the forest, his heart pounding through the whole of his body as his paws beat the ground. Just behind him, over the pounding in his ears, he could hear the panting, snarling breaths of the beast that chased him, hot on his tail and getting ever nearer. With a sudden gnashing of teeth, the beast lunged forward, its jaws just missing Aziraphale’s body as it went over him. The feel of its hot, rank breath over his body sent Aziraphale running even faster than before, dirt and leaves flying underfoot, the world seeming to blur around him. 

_ Somebody help me! _ , he cried out in his mind. _ Somebody please! _As he ran, he noticed that he recognized where he was, that he’d traveled these paths many times before. His heart began to race with hope and joy rather than fear. If he was correct then that would mean… And yes! There it was: the Mother Tree of the forest, only a few dozen yards away. If he could make it he would have a chance, could hide away and stay safe.

Closer and closer he ran and was chased, hoping hoping _ hoping _that he would make it. Past the trees roots that sank deep into the ground, past the roots protruding high out of the earth, past where the roots could be seen intertwining and growing together, closer to the base where the thickest and most tangled parts of the roots where he could find a small alcove to hide inside were. 

_ There! _ His mind cried out to him as he finally found a small opening in the roots a short distance away. He ran towards it, ran ran _ ran _as fast as his legs would allow him to go. His ears swiveled suddenly as they picked up a new sound, almost unheard through the pounding of his heart and the snarling of the beast behind him. If he wasn’t mistaken, it sounded like… growling. A low, threatening growl, coming from somewhere unseen. In a sudden flurry and burst of leaves and dirt and leaping, another beast came from behind a cluster of roots, heading straight for Aziraphale.

Aziraphale’s harsh, ragged breaths froze in his chest and throat, choking him of the little oxygen he had, and his heart and and the blood in his veins became ice inside of him, seeming to weigh him down from the inside out. He was going to die here, in the jaws of one of these beasts. All he could now see and focus on was the beast in front of him, its petrifying, bone white eyes and the gnashing of its rotting, yellow teeth, spittle and foam flying from its maw. The world seemed to halt around him, a deafening, ringing silence falling and surrounding him.

The silence was shattered as suddenly a stone struck the beast in the head, causing it to skid to a stop and search for what had hit it. Shouting filled the air, easily drawing the beast’s attention. And there, on top of a tall cluster of intertwined roots was Crowley, holding aloft another stone.

“OY! YOU STUPID BEASTS!” He cried out as he threw the stone, hitting the beast in the head once again. Fear and anger raced through his veins, making him tremble, and yet filling him with a courage he did not know he possessed. “LEAVE HIM ALONE!” The beast, so distracted by Crowley, did not notice as Aziraphale raced through its legs and out from under it. Both beasts were so distracted, in fact, that neither noticed that the other was in its path, and so the beast chasing Aziraphale collided with the other, causing them to fall to a tangled heap upon the ground.

Crowley watched from up above as Aziraphale kept running away from the beasts, and then as the two beasts fought each other to rise from the ground, becoming entangled and stuck in each others limbs. His heart pounded in his ears and he felt frozen as he watched them struggle and writhe. He’d never seen any of the beasts up close before; only ever heard of them in his lessons and in the dark of night as horror stories. They were even more horrid than he could have ever imagined, he never would have thought that they would look as they did…

Suddenly, Crowley was staring at the two beasts who were now staring back at him, their horrible bone white eyes seeming to stare into his soul, saliva and foam dripping from their snarling jaws. He burst into motion as the beasts launched themselves at the tall roots he lay upon, slithering as fast as he could further up the root and back to the hollow that he had been hiding in when one of the beasts had first made their appearance at the Mother Tree. He shook and let out a cry of fear as the beasts leapt and thrashed and slammed themselves into the base of the roots he slithered upon, too high up for them to reach him at the top, trying to get him to fall to the ground.

His body continued to shake as he finally made it back to the hollow, curling into himself, slowly shifting back further into the hollow as the snarling became louder and closer as they jumped at the root, trying to jump on and reach him. Then, suddenly, the world blurred and spun around him as the base of the hollow gave out under him, causing him to tumble and turn in the sudden darkness of the trunk, falling to the base of the inside of the tree trunk. He lay there in shock as he struggled to catch his breath, the wind knocked out of his body from the fall. He lay there for a moment, regaining his bearings as the world stopped spinning around him.

The world was calm and quiet for a small moment before there was a sudden snarling and thumping at the small opening of the trunk that he hadn’t noticed was there before. He leapt back from the opening, the claws of one of the beasts reaching for him through it, almost catching him. He frantically searched for anything to maybe fight with, for anywhere to go, and behind him, almost exactly opposite from the opening, was a tunnel that lead further into the Mother Tree, dark and deep and smelling of the rich earth. A vicious snarl and the scratching of sharp nails against bark and dirt helped him decide to follow wherever it was the tunnel would lead him. Deeper and deeper into the tunnel he went, the dark surrounding him and the tunnel twisting and turning with dozens of different paths and ways to go. Everything looking the exact same no matter how far he went, making him lose all sense of direction.

After an unknown amount of time, Crowley began to hear a noise in the distance. He whirled around, trying to pinpoint where it was coming from, but it softly echoed throughout the tunnel, not allowing him to locate where it was the noise came from. The noise faded almost as soon as it had started, and he cautiously continued through the tunnel, turning wherever it took him and deciding at random which way to keep going whenever there was more than a single way to go. Suddenly, the noise was back again, but much louder and getting closer. 

Before he could try and pinpoint where the noise was coming from, a small, furry body ran straight into him and bounced off of his body. Both Crowley and the creature screamed in terror, jumping back from the other in fear. Crowley looked closer at the small creature in the darkness, feeling like it looked and sounded familiar, and his heart leapt in joy as he realized just who it was.

“Aziraphale!” He cried out, relief and happiness radiating from his being. “Aziraphale, you’re alright!” Aziraphale’s small body shook and heaved in exhaustion, his heart hammering in his chest. He did not _ feel _ alright, not even a little bit, but he guessed he _ was _alright compared to the alternative of having become a meal for a beast.

“I am al-alright, I guess,” he panted out. “It’s all thanks to you, distracting that beast the way you did, and then them getting all tangled up and everything. Gave me time to find a hollow in the trunk and hide. And well… I seem to have gotten lost. This place is very confusing and big and dark…” Aziraphale began to list to the side, unable to hold himself up anymore. Crowley quickly caught him, gently placing him on his back and nudging him softly in concern. “Oh, I’m sorry, Crowley. I’m okay, really, I promise. I’m just- just tired, but I can walk just fine a-” He was softly pushed back down from where he’d been trying to get up and slide off of Crowley’s back.

“Don’t worry, Aziraphale. I’ll carry you no problem; like when we first met, remember.” Aziraphale softly hummed, Crowley able to feel the vibrations and the soft beating of his heart against his body where he lay. They moved on through the tunnel in comfortable silence, Aziraphale perched upon Crowley, happy to no longer be alone and be with somebody who they could, hopefully, call a friend.

After a while, Crowley could feel the events of the day sink into his bones and body, dragging him down and making him slower. Aziraphale slid off his back, noticing how tired Crowley was, and they went on, side by side, slowly and exhausted and unknowing of where they were going. Just as they were about to give up and sink to the ground, too tired to move any more, there was suddenly something slippery and steep underneath them. Down they tumbled over an incline, landing together on soft ground. They had landed in a large hollow, filled with soft moss and a bed of leaves, the moon throwing soft light where it broke through the foliage covering the opening of the hollow up above.

Crowley and Aziraphale, filled with a bone deep exhaustion, did not try to look and see if there was a way to exit the hollow, and in fact could barely move at all. All they could manage was to move towards the center of it, Crowley curling up into a ball and Aziraphale settling into the small space at the center of him, fitting perfectly as if he were made to be there upon Crowley’s scales. They fell asleep to the sound of the others soft breaths with the soft light of the moon upon them.

They both woke slowly the next morning to gentle sunlight and the singing of birds and the wind in the trees. They stretched and settled against the other, comfortable and warm, neither of them wanting to move. They rose slowly, sticking close to the other as they finally looked around the hollow that they had landed in the night before. Other than the moss and leaf covered ground, there were hard toadstools growing from the bottom of the hollow up to the opening, as if they had been grown specifically that way, and there was an ancient writing on the walls that neither Aziraphale or Crowley could identify or understand.

They gingerly climbed up the toadstools, their bodies sore from all the walking and running they had done before, and squinted into the bright, unfiltered light of the day as they reached the entrance of the hollow. As they finally adjusted to the light, they gaped in amazement and shock at the sight before them. Before them was the entirety of the forest that they called home: trees going on into the horizon and the bright blue sky stretched out above them. 

“This is…” Crowley started but trailed off, unable to find the words to describe what he was seeing.

“This must be what flying feels like,” Aziraphale said in awe, never before having imagined that he would see his home laid out before him this way. Even as they made their way down the large toadstools they couldn’t help but look out at their home. The toadstools ended at another hollow and they climbed inside, where there was a steep tunnel that they slid down, laughing and yelling with joy, neither of them having been so delighted in their lives. They landed together at the bottom, laughing and wiggling and playful. 

They cautiously peeked their heads out of the small hollow that they had landed in, looking out at the forest floor for any beasts or dangers. After seeing nothing, they slowly walked out together, sticking close to the other. Crowley stopped as he saw the outside of the hollow and onto the forest floor, confused and not knowing how they could have appeared where he had started last night. 

“What’s wrong?” Aziraphale asked, turning to him and freezing as he saw what Crowley was looking at.

“I jussst- There was only one opening and tunnel in that hollow lassst night when I landed there! And it definitely wasssn’t the one we just ssslid down! I know it may seem like I’m lying but-”

“No, don’t worry, Crowley. I believe you, because that’s also where I came into the tree. I just- Well, I can’t explain it.” They continued to stare at the scratch marks against the bark of the tree where the beasts from the day before had tried to claw their way in to get to them, not knowing how they could have ended right where they began.

They stared in shock for a moment longer before turning and walked away together until they reached where the end of the roots sank into the ground and the rest of the trees of the forest began. They turned to face each other and stood there for a moment, neither wanting to leave the other for a third time, never knowing if they were to see each other again.

“What if-” Crowley started but cut himself off, suddenly looking shy.

“What if?” Aziraphale asked him, as hope bloomed in his chest.

“What if we met here again? On purpossse, not on accident.”

“Oh, Crowley- we could get in trouble- _ you _could get in trouble. We’ll be punished for being together.”

“They wouldn’t have to know; we could just sneak away! Meet in sssecret!”

“I-”

“Please, Aziraphale? Just think about it, okay? For me?” Crowley stared at Aziraphale as he stood there, conflicting emotions battling each other in his heart and mind. He truly wanted to say yes: to be able to meet Crowley again, to become his friend. He didn’t want anything to happen to him if it was found out that they’d been meeting in secret, had become _ friends _ . Friends with the _ enemy _ . But Crowley _ was _ the one that had suggested it… He made his decision.

“When would we be meeting?” He finally said. Crowley felt joy spark and burst inside of himself and he smiled.

“We can meet at the hollow on the first and third quarters of the moon each month. Neither of our sides should be here at those times. Mine always come during the new moon and-”

“Mine always come at the full,” Aziraphale finished for him. “First and third quarters then.”

“First and third quarters,” Crowley replied softly. Then they turned and walked away from the other and away from the tree, content in the knowledge that they would soon see each other again.

As they left, neither noticed as the Mother Tree swayed from the top of its highest branch, sending the vibrations down through its roots, into the ground and throughout the rest of the forest. Each tree felt the vibrations in its roots where they were connected to the Mother Tree, and sending up the vibrations through their own trunk and branches, all swayed together for a small second of time. The world was changing. Something old had just ended, and something new had just begun. Not a being except for the Mother Tree knew it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading this story!!! If you enjoyed this please leave a kudos and/or comment please and thank you!!!
> 
> This series will (Hopefully) be updated once a month, so if you would like to subscribe to the series so that you can be notified whenever a new story comes out!!!
> 
> Also, I do have like, a background doc filled with some background info and some world building and such, so if anybody would be interested in hearing about how the world works/is set up just tell me and I'll post it as a 2nd chapter to this story!!!
> 
> Again, thank you so much for reading and I hope you all have an absolutely wonderful day/night!!!
> 
> [My Tumblr](https://aphfannerdpersonthing.tumblr.com/)


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